Jesse Sinaiko wrote: >Big pencils. > >Much larger circumference than a normal thin, octagonal pencil. Maybe 1/3 >inch in diameter. I see kids in Chicago Public Schools using them every >day. I had them (and hated them) in first, second, and third grade (6, 7, >and 8 years old aprox.) back in the early 1960s. > >Last year I heard a fairly comprehensive explanation about why they are used >by a second grade teacher and department head. > >It's about motor skill development and dexterity. > > You may want to ask how long ago this theory was developed. I think that this particular theory may need some substantial updating... we've (mankind) learned a lot about human development since the early 1960s. More recent books on human development have been written since then. I think that this might just be a hold over that is explained away without thought.
Also... think about how small the joints are in little fingers. A pencil that big is actually harder to manage because of the physical constraints of the human hand. Of course, I don't write like people would want me to write, I write like I write (you know, the whole 'move the hand', 'hold the pencil right') thing. >Obviously not essential, but helpful in getting primary school kids to >develop writing skills more readily. > >My point was about teeny keyboards and young children having the developed >motor skills to use them efficiently. > > Actually, kids should have less trouble with keyboards since it's basically learning how to point instead of learning how to draw hieroglyphic lines with an oak tree. But that's an opinion, substantiated only with my own experience. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
